Players

Ovechkin was the first player taken in the 2004 NHL Draft and made an immediate impact in his first season by scoring 52 goals and 106 points in 2005-06, earning him the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. His 65 goals in 2007-08 are the most by any player in the 21st century, and he reached the 50-goal mark for the seventh time, the most among active players, when he scored 50 times in 2015-16. Ovechkin scored his 500th NHL goal on Jan. 10, 2016, becoming the 43rd player in NHL history to do so, got No. 600 on March 12, 2018, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after helping the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018. He became the all-time leading Russia-born scorer in NHL history on Feb. 5, 2019, passing Sergei Fedorov, who had 1,079 points.
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Crosby won the Stanley Cup for the third time, and for the second straight season, in 2016-17. He was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second season in a row. He won the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy in 2006-07, and again in 2013-14. He is a three-time winner of the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the outstanding player as voted on by members of the NHL Players Association. He was named MVP of the 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose, and on Feb. 9, 2019, became the Penguins' all-time leader in games played. He has helped Pittsburgh become one of the NHL's most successful franchises on and off the ice, and has been one of the League's most visible players for more than a decade.
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The Oilers took McDavid with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, and he wasted little time showing he belonged. McDavid scored his first NHL goal in his third game, against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 13, 2015, and had his first multigoal game against the Calgary Flames four nights later before an injury cut his rookie season short. McDavid took his game to another level in 2016-17, leading the NHL with 100 points (30 goals, 70 assists), winning the Hart Trophy as most valuable player and the Ted Lindsay Award for the most outstanding player, and helping the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2006. On July 5, 2017, he signed an eight-year, $100 million contract with the Oilers. McDavid led the NHL in scoring again in 2017-18 with 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists), and won the Ted Lindsay Award for the second straight year.
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Matthews is one of those rare players who is living up to the hype that preceded him into the NHL. Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Matthews had a record-setting NHL debut on Oct. 12, 2016, when he scored four goals, becoming the first player in the League's modern era to do so. He led all rookies in goals (40) and points (69) in 2016-17, won the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year, and helped the Maple Leafs advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time since 2004. Matthews had 63 points (34 goals, 29 assists) in 62 games in 2017-18, then began 2018-19 by becoming the fifth player in NHL history to have multiple points in each of his team's first seven games.
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Tavares, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, opted to go home when he signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1, 2018. That came after he spent the first nine seasons of his career with the New York Islanders, who selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. Tavares was a finalist for the Hart Trophy as League MVP in 2012-13 and finished third in Hart voting behind Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price in 2014-15, when he was second in the NHL in scoring. He was also voted a First-Team All-Star in 2014-15, becoming the first Islanders player to earn that honor since Mike Bossy in 1985-86. Tavares had 84 points in 2017-18, the third 80-point season of his NHL career, and his 37 goals were one short of his NHL career high.
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Laine, selected by the Winnipeg Jets with the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, was 18 when he was named the most valuable player at the 2016 IIHF World Championship. He then wasted little time showing that his skills translated well to the smaller NHL rinks, becoming a threat to score any time he stepped on the ice. Laine finished 2016-17 with 64 points (36 goals, 28 assists) in 73 games, coming in second in voting for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. He was even better in his second season, finishing second in the NHL with 44 goals, then had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Jets advance to the Western Conference Final before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights.
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Kane's overtime goal in Game 6 of the 2010 Final gave the Blackhawks their first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during Chicago's run to the Cup in 2013, and shared the scoring lead in 2015 to help Chicago win its third championship in six seasons. In 2015-16, Kane had 106 points (46 goals, 60 assists) to become the first American-born player in League history to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player.
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Stamkos is a two-time winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer. He led the League with 51 goals in 2009-10 and was tops in 2011-12 with 60, a mark no one has approached since then. The first player taken in the 2008 NHL Draft has had two other seasons with 40 or more goals and three seasons when he's scored more than 90 points. He helped the Lightning advance to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final with seven goals and 18 points in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
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Subban broke into the NHL with a splash, scoring 14 goals as a rookie in 2010-11, and has grown into one of the NHL's best at his position, winning the Norris Trophy as the League's top defenseman in 2012-13. On the ice, he's is a terrific skater with a big shot and a flair for the dramatic; off the ice, he's one of hockey's most outgoing personalities, and he has shown he's a natural in front of the camera. He was traded to the Predators by the Montreal Canadiens on June 29, 2016, and helped his new team advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in its history in 2017.
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Price led the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final in 2014, but his success that season went beyond the NHL. He was almost flawless during the 2014 Sochi Olympics, when he shut out the United States in the semifinals and Sweden in the final to lead Canada to the gold medal. He was named the tournament's outstanding goaltender by the IIHF.
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Fleury, selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, has won the Stanley Cup three times with the Penguins (2009, 2016, 2017), and is among the top 10 on the NHL's all-time list for wins by a goaltender. But he's probably more famous these days for his work with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18. After being taken by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Fleury had the best statistical season of his NHL career (29-13-4, 2.24 goals-against average, .927 save percentage) and helped the Golden Knights set numerous League records for expansion teams. He followed that by going 12-3 in the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Golden Knights became the first expansion team since the 1967-68 St. Louis Blues to advance to the Cup Final, although Vegas lost in five games to the Washington Capitals.
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All Lundqvist has done since taking the No. 1 goaltending job as a rookie with the Rangers in 2005 is win. He surpassed Mike Richter's franchise career record for victories during the 2013-14 season, when he led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years. Lundqvist holds team records for appearances, wins and shutouts, and he won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender in 2011-12. He won at last 30 games in each of his first 11 full NHL seasons, including an NHL career-high of 39 in 2011-12.
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The owner of one of the NHL's most celebrated beards had a career year in 2016-17, leading all defensemen with 29 goals and 76 points to win the Norris Trophy. That followed up a 2015-16 season when he led all defensemen with 27 goals, helping the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. In November 2016, he signed an eight-year contract with the Sharks.
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Malkin has a blend of size, speed and skill that makes him an offensive force; along with Sidney Crosby, he gives the Penguins a terrific one-two punch down the middle. Malkin, the second player taken in the 2004 NHL Draft, led the League in scoring in 2008-09 and again in 2011-12. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2006-07, captured the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award in 2011-12, and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2009.
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No defenseman in the 2010s has put up more points than Karlsson, the 15th player taken in the 2008 NHL Draft; he's the only one to break the 500-point mark since the start of the 2010-11 season. Karlsson won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2011-12, when he had 78 points, and repeated in 2014-15, when he led the Senators with 66 points and had an NHL career-high 21 goals. Karlsson has had four seasons of 70 or more points before his 27th birthday. He can play nearly 30 minutes a night on a regular basis and is a threat to score or set up a teammate for a goal every time he's on the ice.
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Bergeron excels in every facet of the game. He's perennially among the NHL's best in the face-off circle and is a four-time winner of the Selke Trophy, given to the best defensive forward. But the native of L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, has become much more than just one of hockey's best checkers since making the Bruins as an 18-year-old after being selected by Boston in the second round (No. 45) in the 2003 NHL Draft. Bergeron scored at least 20 goals in seven consecutive full seasons, had 30 or more four times, and scored two goals in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final to help the Bruins win their first championship since 1972. That victory also made Bergeron a member of the Triple Gold Club, reserved for those who've won gold medals at the Olympics and the IIHF World Championship, as well as the Stanley Cup.
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Holtby's play since the start of the 2014-15 season has elevated him into the ranks of the NHL's elite. He took a great leap forward in '14-15, jumping from 23 victories to 41 and reducing his goals-against average to 2.22 from 2.85. Holtby took another step forward in 2015-16, finishing with 48 wins to earn the Vezina Trophy. He was a Vezina finalist in 2016-17, then earned all 16 victories when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2018, finishing with a 2.16 GAA and .922 save percentage. "The Save," a stick-paddle stop on Alex Tuch's potential tying goal in Game 2 of the 2018 Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, quickly became one of the most famous plays in franchise history.
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"Captain Serious" is one of the NHL's most consistent scorers, having put up at least 20 goals in each of his first 11 seasons. He also won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward in 2012-13. But those aren't the only accomplishments that make Toews one of the League's elite players. He's been one of the cornerstones of the Blackhawks' revival, which includes Stanley Cup victories in 2010, 2013 and 2015. In 2010, Toews won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP by scoring 29 points in 22 games to help the Blackhawks win the Cup for the first time since 1961. Toews also excels in Olympic competition, having helped Canada win gold in 2010 and 2014.
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It took some time for Kessel to get comfortable with the Penguins after being traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1, 2015. But after a slow start, he finished the 2015-16 season with 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists), then had 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 24 playoff games to help the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2016. In the 2016-17 playoffs, he had 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) to help the Penguins win a second straight Stanley Cup title. Kessel, one of the NHL's fastest skaters, has scored 30 or more goals six times in his career and had an NHL career-high 92 points (34 goals, 58 assists) for the Penguins in 2017-18. Kessel has played in three NHL All-Star Games and won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2007.
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Kucherov has become one of the most dangerous offensive players in the NHL. He had his first 30-goal season in 2015-16, bumped that up to 40 goals in 2016-17, then finished third in the NHL in scoring in 2017-18 with 100 points (39 goals, 61 assists), helping the Lightning win the Atlantic Division. Kucherov's scoring touch has carried over into the Stanley Cup Playoffs; he has 59 points (29 goals, 30 assists) in 62 games. Though he's listed at 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds, Kucherov is more than willing to go to the dirty areas in front of the net, and he's combined with linemate Steven Stamkos to give the Lightning one of the most formidable duos in the NHL.
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Backstrom, taken by the Capitals with the fourth pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, has spent much of his NHL career as Alex Ovechkin's center, but he's a lot more than just the guy who gets the puck to Ovi. In his first 11 NHL seasons, he's averaged nearly a point per game (799 points in 815 games). Backstrom had 50 assists in 2017-18; it's the eighth time he's reached that plateau in his career, more than any other player since he entered the NHL since 2007-08. Backstrom also reached 70 points for the seventh time in his NHL career in 2017-18, then had 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) to help Washington win the Stanley Cup for the first time since entering the NHL in 1974.
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Marchand began his NHL career with the reputation of being a pest, but he's grown into a lot more than a player who merely agitates opponents. In 2010-11, his first full season with the Boston Bruins, Marchand scored 21 goals during the regular season, then had 11 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to help Boston win its first championship since 1972. He had a breakout season in 2015-16, finishing with 37 goals, then scored the tournament-winning goal for Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Marchand followed that by scoring 39 goals and 85 points in 2016-17, earning First-Team All-Star honors. He had 34 goals and 85 points in 68 games in 2017-18 and has established himself as one of the game's top left wings.
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Everything came together for Hall in 2017-18, his second season with the New Jersey Devils after six with the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him No. 1 in the 2010 NHL Draft but traded him for defenseman Adam Larsson on June 29, 2016. Despite playing with a hand injury that required offseason surgery, the dynamic left wing had by far his best season, with NHL highs of 39 goals, 54 assists and 93 points in 76 games, helping the Devils return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2012. He had six points (two goals, four assists) in five playoff games during his first trip to the NHL's postseason. The Calgary native earned First-Team All-Star honors, won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and established himself as a cornerstone in the resurgence of the Devils.
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